In a related vein, I believe there still has been no public disclosure of the identity of the likely buyer of the pre-merger Whitehouse Station Merck HQ, now that Merck has fully transitioned over to the legacy Schering-Plough HQ digs — in Kenilworth. I suspect the final selling price — on this vast 1.3 million square foot facility — on Morris Avenue, in Summit, New Jersey, will be reduced during the scheduled due diligence period (or the contract is already subject to formulaic downward adjustments and/or credits, at closing), in order to accommodate what I hear are some at least potentially large environmental remediation expense items. In fairness, however, such remediation efforts are associated with most larger pharma manufacturing facilities — of this last half century vintage (old school — 1960s and 1970s — style chemical API waste handling standards are the drivers, there).

In any event, here is the operative bit, about the contract (terms withheld) on this Summit facility, overnight, from local New Jersey sources:

. . . .Celgene Corp. has agreed to purchase the vacant 1.3 million-square-foot Merck & Co. complex in Summit, adding to what is already a quickly growing footprint in the pharmaceutical giant’s home city.

The company announced Wednesday that it will acquire the site at 556 Morris Ave., which includes a mix of administrative and research and development space. Pending the completion of due diligence, closing is planned for September.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. . . .

Duly noted. Have a peaceful and safe Fourth, one and all. We’re outta here.